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November/December
1999 Issue
Puzzles
and Videos and Books, Oh My!
Nowadays,
when families gather during the holidays, watching videos often tops the
list of intergenerational indoor activities. Several places on the islands
conveniently cater to the video rental market. Fortunately, island shops
also sell plenty of old-fashioned low-tech puzzles and games. They, too,
are still lots of fun, whether you are 2 or 102.
Just show your driver’s license to rent a video
at Little Nancy’s Sunrise Video, near the Sanibel Lighthouse.
Co-owner Rick Gaudet explains that the store does not, however, take credit
cards. Customers can rent VCRs, video cameras, digital video discs, and
coming soon, DVD players. Gaudet also has a Nintendo 64 system and accompanying
games. The store allows customers to pre-pay for 10 videos, “so parents
can send kids down without money. It makes it especially easy for kids
coming off the beach.” He adds, “Most people who come here on
vacation are very good about remembering to return everything.” 359
Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, 941/472-6364.
The Video Scene, located at Bailey’s Shopping
Center, offers a large selection of videos, and VCRs are also available
for rent. In addition, the store has video games that are rented by residents
or by visitors who bring video game systems along on their island vacation.
Customers show a driver’s license and their credit card number is
kept on file. Bailey’s Shopping Center, corner of Periwinkle Way
and Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel, 941/472-0077 or 941/472-1158.
On Captiva, the Island Store is a handy place
for residents and visitors to rent videos. Its rental policy is the same
no matter where you live in the United States or abroad: Show your driver’s
license or other suitable identification. The store’s customers are
quite conscientious when it comes to returning the videos; rarely do any
end up missing. 11500 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva, 941/472-2374.
Also on Captiva, CW’s Market and Deli, at
the entrance to South Seas Plantation, has videos available for rent.
Supervisor Crystal Daugherty says most of the store’s video rental
customers are guests at South Seas Plantation, and they can use their
house charge, major credit cards, or cash. The public is also able to
rent the videos. Major credit cards are preferred over cash. Daugherty
explains that the store sells a video card for $16.95 that is good for
one week for an unlimited number of videos, but they must be taken out
one at a time. Chadwick’s Square, South Seas Plantation, Captiva,
941/472-5111, ext. 3307 or 800/449-3934, ext. 3307.
Of course, don’t forget that the islands’
public libraries have videos, too. At the Sanibel Public Library,
membership cards are available for free for Lee County residents or property
owners. Visitors, whether from the United States or overseas, can get
a library card for $10 for one year by showing a driver’s license
or other suitable identification. Videos can be checked out for a week;
likewise for CDs. Back issues of magazines can also be borrowed for a
week, and books on tape can be checked out for two weeks. A cardholder
is allowed to borrow a total of 20 items. 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel,
941/472-2483.
Captiva Memorial Library also allows Lee County
residents or property owners to obtain library cards for free. “Visitors
who show proper identification can get a card for $5,” explains employee
Nina Lithgow. “It’s really reasonable when visitors do that,”
she adds. “When you think about it, $5 is cheaper than a paperback
book.” Videos can be checked out for two weeks, and most new books
and older magazines can be borrowed for two weeks. All other material
can be checked out for four weeks, including books on tape. 11560 Chapin
Lane, Captiva, 941/472-2133.
Your mind will travel back to pre-video days when you
see the wooden toy trains at Cheshire Cat Toys in Tahitian Gardens
on Sanibel, or at the Bell Tower Shops in Ft. Myers. Linda Turansky, who
works at both shops, says, “As grown-ups know, wooden train systems
are timeless toys that can be used and kept from generation to generation.
They make people say, ‘I remember when.’ ” At the other
end of the spectrum are toys invented by kids for kids (and young-at-heart
adults.) Included is the Water Talkie, an underwater megaphone. “That
sure is different,” adds Turansky. “Something to teach the parents.”
1999 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, 941/472-3545; and the Bell Tower Shops,
Ft. Myers, 941/482-8697.
At Periwinkle Place shopping center, Toys Ahoy
employee Greg Miller says a popular-selling item for holidays or all year
round is the Sanibel-Captiva jigsaw puzzle. “And the Titanic jigsaw
puzzle is still selling, too,” he adds. Card sharks of different
ages and abilities will have hours of fun, and accompanying frustration,
after they choose Rummy, Canasta, Spades, Go Fish, or Old Maid. A series
of Florida nature books by Susan Tate, and illustrated by James Melvin,
is perfect for young readers or not-yet readers with helpful parents and
grandparents. Titles include Danny and Daisy, a dolphin story;
Perky Pelican; Mary Manatee; and Izzy Lizzy Alligator.
Helpful parents and grandparents can also stay up late assembling Thomas
the Tank Engine and Friends, or wait until Christmas morning to let little
ones lend a hand. 2075 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, 941/472-4800.
Take the family on a tour of the Bailey-Matthews
Shell Museum and then be sure to visit its gift shop. Manager Pat
Jones does a wonderful job ordering unusual items, including a puzzle
made of three plastic pieces that form a three-dimensional coral reef.
Six pop-out pieces comprise Learn about the Seashore, which is a perfect
puzzle for young children, as is the large-piece Beneath the Sea. The
shop sells a glow-in-the-dark puzzle called Undersea Lights, and a giant
floor puzzle titled Frisky Fish. 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel,
941/395-2233.
A good selection of jigsaw puzzles for all ages and
skill levels is available at Bailey’s True Value Hardware.
Young children will enjoy putting together Elmo or other characters in
Milton Bradley’s Sesame Street series. Older children, and
adults, can memorize state birds and flowers while completing a 1,000-piece
puzzle. The store sells a 1,000-piece American lighthouses puzzle, although
Sanibel’s signature structure isn’t represented. Grandparents
in particular might go for the 1,000-piece American golf history puzzle,
or 1,000 pieces commemorating the first 100 years of the American automobile.
No one will ever be bored playing board games such as Chutes and Ladders,
Bingo, or Risk. Be careful of your back because Twister, that ’60s
hit, is back. For true ’90s entertainment, try Charades for Dummies
or Crosswords for Dummies. Bailey’s Shopping Center, Sanibel,
941/472-1516.
Eckerd Drugs carries lots of intergenerational
activities. Jigsaw puzzles range widely in difficulty, starting with the
children’s cartoon character Arthur, which has just 24 pieces. Bucolic
scenes of forests, streams, and flowers appear in 1,000-piece and 2,000-piece
versions by Super Big Ben or Guild. Create a miniature, three-dimensional
Empire State Building or complete Milton-Bradley’s attractive seascape
in 750 pieces. And there’s something new inside a very familiar,
bright yellow border: a 70-piece Sticker Puzzle of the Solar System by
the National Geographic Society. You’ll also find all the all-time
favorite board games: Monopoly, Sorry, Candyland, Guess Who, Operation,
Trouble, and Life. 2331 Palm Ridge Road, Sanibel, 941/472-0085.
–Libby Grimm
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